In line with the Structure Plan and the Grand Harbour Local Plan policies, the Maltese
Government is implementing a holistic strategy aimed at reducing private vehicular traffic
in Valletta and making alternative modes of transport to and within the same area more
viable.

The underpinning objectives of this strategy are to:

• Improve the quality of life of the residents within the Valletta peninsula, by
improving both the environment in which they live and their access to Valletta
through both public and private modes of transport;

• Enhance the commercial activity within the Valletta peninsula by ensuring that any
measure taken will make it possible for business activity to thrive;

• Improve the general environment and appearance of Valletta, taking into
consideration the historical context as well as the World Heritage status of Valletta.

The reduction in vehicular traffic, together with the embellishment of the Valletta
peninsula, is intended to make the area look more appealing to visitors thereby also
benefiting the commercial community in the same area.

Controlled Vehicular Access makes use of dedicated cameras that are installed in twelve points around Valletta and which photograph vehicles entering and exiting the CVA boundary. The CVA system then makes use of various technologies to identify the vehicle, calculate the time the vehicle remained inside the Valletta CVA boundary and finally compute the fee due for access and parking based on the tariffs issued by Transport Malta (TM).

The CVA system in Valletta replaced the V License requirement for access to the Capital.

The V License structure will become obsolete as from the 1st May 2007. Those vehicle owners who have already paid for their V-Licence before the 1st of May will therefore be given a credit on their account the next time they renew their vehicle road licence. Therefore charges will apply as of 1st May irrespective of whether a V-Licence was paid or not.

A practical example of the above follows:

If a vehicle owner paid his or her V-Licence renewal in January 2007, and therefore this expires in December 2007, once the CVA system for Valletta comes into effect, that individual would have paid for an extra 8 months for access into the Capital. Consequently, those extra 8 months will be credited back to the vehicle owners' account on a pro-rata basis, ie. €46.50 / 12 x 8 = €31.00. When the customer renews the vehicle road licence in 2008, the €31.00 will be deducted from the road licence.

Invoices/bills shall be issued to the registered owner of the vehicle in question in
the first week of the month following the event which took place within the CVA
zone, provided that if the amount does not exceed €11.65, the bill will be
issued every three months.

You need to fill in your details using the CVA form R1 which is generally sent automatically with your first bill or by downloading and filling in the CVA form R2. You may also request a copy of the CVA form R2 via the CVA call centre.

Once filled in, the form has to be signed and sent back together with a photocopy of your ID card/passport. After your form has been processed the online access will be activated automatically. For SMS notifications, only one mobile phone may be associated with a particular vehicle.

Yes. In addition to having a detailed bill per registered vehicle, you will always
receive a group statement. You may opt to pay all the bills for the whole group.
Using the online website you can also opt to pay for a subset of vehicles registered
in your name. If you have multiple companies or organisations you will receive a
group statement per company automatically. You can also delegate authority to
yourself or to a trusted third-party to access multiple group bills, thus simplifying
the administration of the CVA billing process.

Yes. You may view your vehicles’ activity online for free. You can also subscribe to a mobile-based information service that sends SMS
notifications according to your vehicular activity. A charge
of €0.05 per notification SMS applies to cover the
basic operational costs but otherwise the subscription is free. For security and
confidentiality reasons the CVA call centre staff will not divulge information about
vehicles over the phone. Note that vehicular activity may normally take up to 1
hour to be registered in the system, with a 15 minute delay being typical.

You are encouraged to provide feedback to CVA. This type of feedback is not
regarded as a contestation.

OPTION 1
You can contact CVA (by phone, mail, email, in person, at Valletta local council) to
go through the billing process, the way the invoices are laid out, and the calculation
of these invoices.

OPTION 2
You can view photographs and details of the transactions online, or at the CVA
offices.
OPTION 3
You can report queries in person at the CVA offices, or online.

OPTION 4
You can start the contestation process requiring the filing of a signed report at CVA
offices. Online customers can also start a contestation process online. This must
be done within 20 days from the invoice date.

Contestations may incur an administrative charge that will be calculated according
to the total amount due for the respective bill being contested (all amounts
inclusive):

• Amounts from €0.01 to €2.33 : €1.16 charge

• Amounts from €2.34 to €11.62: €3.49 charge

• Amounts from €11.63 upwards: €11.65 charge

If the contestation is successful on the part of the customer, there will be no
administrative charge. Any discounts that were lost due to the contestation process
will be applied retroactively. Any rate increases that were applied due to the
contestation process will be reversed.

If the contestation is not successful on the part of the customer, the administrative
charge will be added to the current outstanding amount to cover the costs of
producing an official contestation report. Any discount period or rate increase
period will still be applicable from the date of bill issue.

Contestations will be handled by an Independent Contestation Board appointed by
the Transport Malta, and all decisions made by this Board will be final
and cannot be re-contested.

Contested bills will still need to be paid before the vehicle is transferred,
scrapped or garaged. However the road licence will be able to be renewed.

f) Residents
The criteria established for residential status in Valletta, and hence free
parking within the charging zone, require a vehicle to be within the charging
zone at least 15 nights per month for at least any two consecutive hours
between 1:00am and 5:00am. This will be done automatically by the CVA
system and hence requires no registration or applications.

If a resident satisfies the criteria mentioned above for November to May,
he/she will be automatically considered a resident for the next five months
(June to October). This is to cater for those Valletta residents that reside
elsewhere for the Summer months. Those who acquire a vehicle within the
November to May period, will only require to satisfy the criteria mentioned
above from the date of acquisition till May. Likewise, those who acquire a
vehicle within the June to October period, will only require to satisfy the
criteria for the first month to be exempted for the rest of the period.

Residents' vehicles parked outside the charging zone between the hours of 1:00am
and 5:00am because of work can submit a written request for an exemption
to the Valletta Local Council for consideration.

Residents that register or transfer a
vehicle during a particular month will obtain residency
status if half the remaining days till the end of the month
in question satisfy the above criteria.

The following need to apply at the Valletta Local Council to be exempted. Details
on each application can be found in the ‘Procedures for applying for
exemptions’.

One of the measures
to improve the pedestrian zone is the closure for traffic
going up St. John Street into St. John Square via Republic
Street. The only vehicle access going up through this area
would be for electric mini cars and cars belonging to
residents within the St. John Square area.

A mechanical bollard has been installed on top of St. John
Street corner with Republic Street. A remote control will be
given to each resident in the area to be able to operate
this bollard only for picking up relatives, and emergencies.
The time allowed within St. John Square will be for 10
minutes. There although accessible at all times, residents
are not allowed to park in St. John Square.

Applying for the remote control
Residents will be able to apply for these controls from
Valletta Local Council by filling in form A6. This includes
certain documentation that is required. Once approved by the
Local Council, one remote control per residence together
with a parking clock and special permit will be provided to
the applicant free of charge.

This remote control will be provided in connection with the
residence that is indicated in the application. Therefore if
it is found in possession of anyone else, the permit will be
suspended by the Local Council.

Operating the mechanical bollard
Opening and closing of the bollard is done by pressing the
control, and pointing it in the direction of the bollard. It
is imperative that this bollard is left closed to restrict
access to authorised vehicles only.

Replacing lost remote controls
Lost remote controls will be replaced at a cost of €250
subject to the provision of a Police Report to the Valletta
Local Council. However the first replacement will be
provided free of charge.

CVA ensures that all online transactions are secure by:
a) using SSL connectivity between the client and server. Moreover all web pages are encrypted (on logging in) using RSA 1024 bits certificates, and a secure point-to-point link are used between CVA's online payment site and the Payment Gateway's servers.
b) only storing the customer's first two and last four digits - the other digits are masked (they are only used when payment is being affected, thereafter they are discarded)

Thus due to the above-mentioned security features; CVA Technology Company Ltd teamed up with the major banks in Malta, primarily BOV and HSBC, to provide easy to use online payment facilities - serving all BOV, APS and HSBC debit card holders, together with those who use a VISA or Mastercard credit card.

Yes, once you notify us in writing that you paid more than you should have, after making the necessary checking and verifications we will then issue a refund in respect of the excess amount which was paid.